Domestic implementation of international criminal law
Slovak Republic
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Crimes Crime of Aggression / Crimes against Peace
➤ Crimes against peace are punished in Section 417, Title One ("Criminal Offences against Peace and Humanity, Criminal Offences of Terrorism and Extremism"), Chapter Twelve ("Criminal Offences against Peace, against Humanity, Criminal Offences of Terrorism, Extremism and War Crimes") of the Criminal Code of the Slovak Republic in the following way:
"Section 417
See:
Endangering Peace
(1) Any person who endangers peaceful coexistence among nations by any kind of warmongering, propagating war or otherwise supporting war propaganda shall be liable to a term of imprisonment of one to ten years.
(2) The offender shall be liable to a term of imprisonment of ten to twenty-five years or to life imprisonment if he commits the offence referred to in paragraph 1a) in association with a foreign power or foreign agent,
b) as a member of a dangerous grouping, or
c) under a crisis situation."
Criminal Code of Slovakia. Act 300/2005 Coll. of 20 May 2005. [ENG]
➤ The Slovak republic accepted the Kampala amendments to the Rome Statute on the crime of aggression on 28 April 2014:
Slovakia ratifies amendments to the Rome Statute on the crime of aggression and on article 8 related to war crimes.
ICC-ASP-20140429-PR1000, Assembly of States Parties to the International Criminal Court, The Hague, 29 April 2014. [ENG]Crimes Against Humanity
Crimes against humanity are included in Section 425 of the Criminal Code of the Slovak Republic in the following way:
"Section 425
See:
Brutality
(1) Any person who commits an act against civilian population that is deemed to be a crime against humanity under Article 7 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court shall be liable to a term of imprisonment of twelve to twenty-five or to life imprisonment.
(2) The offender shall be liable to life imprisonment if he commits the offence referred to in paragraph 1,a) and causes grievous bodily harm or death to several persons or other particularly serious consequence through its commission, or
b) in retaliation".
Criminal Code of Slovakia. Act 300/2005 Coll. of 20 May 2005. [ENG] Genocide
Genocide is defined in Section 418 of the Criminal Code of the Slovak Republic:
"Section 418
See:
Genocide
(1) Any person who, with the intention to destroy, in whole or in part, any national, ethnic, racial or religious group,a) causes grievous bodily harm or death to a member of such group,
shall be liable to a term of imprisonment of fifteen to twenty years. (2) The offender shall be liable to a term of imprisonment of twenty to twenty-five years or to life imprisonment if he commits the offence referred to in paragraph in the wartime or during an armed conflict. (3) The offender shall be liable to life imprisonment if, through the commission of the offence referred to in paragraph 1, he causes death to several persons."
b) imposes a measure intended to prevent births within the group,
c) forcibly transfers children of the group to another group, or
d) deliberately inflicts on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part,
Criminal Code of Slovakia. Act 300/2005 Coll. of 20 May 2005. [ENG] War Crimes
War crimes are defined in Sections 426-428 and 430-434, under Title Two ("War Crimes"), of the Criminal Code of the Slovak Republic:See:
Criminal Code of Slovakia. Act 300/2005 Coll. of 20 May 2005. [ENG]
Related documents:
Act on the Slovak Red Cross Society and on the Protection of the Emblem and Name of the Red Cross Society and on the amendments of certain laws. Act No. 460, 20 September 2007. [ENG]
Act No. 218/2007 Coll. On the Prohibition of Biological Weapons and on Amendments of Certain Acts. Act No. 218, 28 March 2007. [ENG]
Act on Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, and on Changes and Amendments to some Acts. Act No. 129, 01 April 1998. [ENG]
[Please note: This Act is in force but was partially amended by Act No. 21/2007 Coll. on goods and dual-use technologies and amending certain laws. English version not available.]
Statute of the Committee on International Humanitarian Law. 20 September 2001. [ENG]
[Please note: This Statute was amended in 2010 and 2013. The text of the amendments is only available in Slovak].
Jurisdiction
➤ Section 5a of the Criminal Code provides the following:"This Act shall be applied to determine the criminal liability for the criminal offence of illicit manufacturing and possession of narcotics or psychotropic substances, poisons or precursors, and trafficking in them (Section 171 and 172) forgery, fraudulent alteration and illicit manufacturing of money and securities (Section 270), uttering counterfeit, fraudulently altered and illicitly manufactured money and securities (Section 271), manufacturing and possession of instruments for counterfeiting and forgery (Section 272), forgery, fraudulent alteration andillicit manufacturing of duty stamps, postage stamps, stickers and postmarks (Section 274), forgery and fraudulent alteration of control technical measures for labelling goods (Section 275), establishing, masterminding and supporting a terrorist group or its member (Section 297), illicit manufacturing and possession of nuclear materials, radioactive substances, hazardous chemicals and hazardous biological agents and toxins (Section 298 and 299), plotting against the Slovak Republic (Section 312), terror (Section 313 and 314), destructive actions (Section 315 and 316), sabotage (Section 317), espionage (Section 318), assaulting a public authority (Section 321), assaulting a public official (Section 323), countefeiting and altering a public instrument, official seal, official seal-off, official emblem and official mark (Section 352), jeopardising the safety of confidential and restricted Information (Section 353), smuggling of migrants (Section 355), endangering peace (Section 417), genocide (Section 418), terrorism and some forms of participation on terrorism (section 419), brutality (Section 425), using prohibited weapons and unlawful warfare (Section 426), plundering in the war area (Section 427), misuse of internationally recognised and national symbols (Section 428), war atrocities (Section 431), persecution of civilians (Section 432), lawlessness in the wartime (Section 433), even if such act was committed outside of the territory of the Slovak Republic by an alien who has not his/her permanent residence on the territory of the Slovak Republic."
See:Criminal Code of Slovakia. Act 300/2005 Coll. of 20 May 2005. [ENG]
➤ Miscellaneous provisions of the Criminal Code applying to the crime of aggression, crimes against humanity, genocide and war crimes:"Section 28
Exercising Rights and Performing Duties
(1) An act, which otherwise gives rise to criminal liability, shall not be considered as a criminal offence if it constitutes the exercise of rights or the performance of duties prescribed by a generally binding legal regulation, resulting from the decision of a court or other public authority, connected with the fulfilment of work assignments or other tasks, or resulting from an agreement which does not breach or circumvent the law, provided that such rights are exercised and duties are fulfilled in a lawful manner.
(2) Provision of paragraph 1 shall not apply if the criminal offence of genocide pursuant to Section 418 or the criminal offence of brutality pursuant to Section 425 was committed by fulfilment of an order, instruction, imperative or a guideline of a public authority body or of a superior.
(3) Provision of paragraph 1 shall not apply if the criminal offence of lawlessness in the wartime pursuant to Section 433 was committed by fulfilment of an order, instruction, imperative or a guideline of a public authority body or of a superior, unless the person who pursued such order, instruction, imperative or the guidelinea) had a legal obligation to fulfil such order, instruction, imperative or the guideline,
b) did not know that the order, instruction, imperative or the guideline concerned was unlawful, and
c) the content of such order, instruction, imperative or the guideline did not suggest that it was unlawful.""Section 30
Acting as an Agent
1) An act, which otherwise gives rise to criminal liability, whereby an agent appointed in compliance with the special regulation endangers or infringes an interest protected under this Act in the course of disclosing a criminal offence or identifying its offender, shall not constitute a criminal offence if he has been forced to do so by the criminal group or the terrorist group, in which he operates, or he commited such an act because of reasonable concerns about the life or limb of himself or of a close person.
(2) The provision of paragraph 1 shall not apply if the agent commits the criminal offence of first degree murder pursuant to Section 144, murder pursuant to Section 145, rape pursuant to Section 199, sexual violence pursuant to Section 200, sexual abuse pursuant to Section 201, endangering the public safety pursuant to Section 284 paragraphs 2 through 4, endangering the safety of an aircraft or a vessel pursuant to Section 291, hijacking an aircraft to a foreign country pursuant to Section 293, high treason pursuant to Section 311, plotting against the Slovak Republic pursuant to Section 312, terror pursuant to Sections 313 and 314, destructive actions pursuant to Sections 315 and 316, sabotage pursuant to Section 317, espionage pursuant to Section 318, genocide pursuant to Section 418, terrorism and some forms of participation on terrorism pursuant to Section 419, or acts against humanity pursuant to Section 425, or if he causes grievous bodily harm or death through an act referred to in paragraph 1.
(3) An act otherwise defined as criminal in Sections 332 through 335 and Section 336 paragraph 2, carried out in compliance with the Code of Criminal Procedure in order to disclose a criminal offence or identify the offender of a criminal offence defined in Sections 326, 328 through 331, or in Section 336 paragraph 1, shall not constitute a criminal offence.""Section 39
Exceptional Reduction of a Custodial Penalty
[...]
(3) However, when considering less than statutory penalty, the court may not impose
a) a custodial penalty of less than twenty years if the offender is convicted of criminal offence of first degree murder pursuant to Section 144 paragraph 3, genocide pursuant to Section 418 paragraph 3, terrorism and some forms of participation on terrorism pursuant to Section 419 paragraphs 3 and 4, acts against humanity pursuant to Section 425 paragraph 2, or war atrocity pursuant to Section 433 paragraph 2, [...]""Section 47
Life Imprisonment
(1) The court may impose a life imprisonment sentence only in respect of a specific criminal offence set out in the Special Section of this Act. The court may impose a life imprisonment sentence only provided thata) the imposition of this type of punishment is necessary to ensure an effective protection of the society, and
(2) When sentencing an offender for a completed criminal offence of first degree murder pursuant to Section 144, murder pursuant to Section 145, bodily harm pursuant to Section 155, illicit manufacturing, possession of and trafficking in narcotics, drugs, poisons and precursors pursuant to Section 172 par. 2, 3 or 4, trafficking in human beings pursuant to Section 179, stealing and trading of children pursuant to Section 180 par. 2 or 3 or pursuant to Section 181, taking a hostage pursuant to Section 185, abduction to a foreign country pursuant to Section 187, robbery pursuant to Section 188, extortion pursuant to Section 189 par. 2, 3 or 4, duress pursuant to Section 190 or section 191 par. 2, 3 or 4, rape pursuant to Section 199, sexual violence pursuant to Section 200, sexual abuse pursuant to Section 201 par. 2 or 3, battering a close person and a person entrusted to one's care pursuant to Section 208, endangering the public safety pursuant to Section 284, endangering the safety of an aircraft or a vessel pursuant to Section 291, hijacking an aircraft to a foreign country pursuant to Section 293, establishing, masterminding and supporting a criminal group pursuant to Section 296, establishing, masterminding and supporting a terrorist group pursuant to Section 297, terror pursuant to Section 313 or 314, forcible crossing the state border pursuant to Section 354 par. 2. 3 or 4, facilitating an illegal border crossing pursuant to Section 355 par. 3, 4 or 5, manufacturing of child pornography pursuant to Section 368, genocide pursuant to Section 418, terrorism and some forms of participation on terrorism pursuant to Section 419, or acts against humanity pursuant to Section 425, although he was two times imposed an unconditional sentence of imprisonment for such criminal offences, the court shall impose life imprisonment, if the conditions referred to in paragraph 1 are met, otherwise it shall impose him an imprisonment for 25 years if circumstances of considerable regard do not prevent such sentence. However, the court is not allowed to impose such offender the imprisonment less than 20 years. "
b) the offender may not be expected to become rehabilitated by means of a term of imprisonment of less than twenty-five years."Section 85
Effective regret
Punishability of criminal offences of spreading on dangerous human infectious disease pursuant to Section 163, endangering health due to defective food and other goods pursuant to Section 168, taking a hostage pursuant to Section 185, laundering the proceeds of crime pursuant to Sections 233, 234, breach of trust by maladministration of estates of another pursuant to Section 238, breach of regulations governing the imports and exports of goods pursuant to Section 254, breach of regulations governing the handling of controlled goods and technologies pursuant to Sections 255, 256 and 257, endangering foreign exchange trade pursuant to Section 258, distortion of data in financial and commercial records pursuant to Section 260, damaging financial interests of the European Communities pursuant to Section 263, endangering commercial, bank, postal, telecommunication or tax secrects pursuant to Section 264, minimizing taxes and insurance pursuant to Section 276, endangering public safety pursuant to Section 284, damaging and endangering the operation of publicly expedient utilities pursuant to Section 286, endangering or damaging the environment pursuant to Sections 300 and 301, high treason pursuant to Section 311, plotting against the Slovak Republic pursuant to Section 312, terror pursuant to Sections 313 and 314, distructive actions pursuant to Section 315 and 316, sabotage pursuant to Section 317, espionage pursuant to Section 318, endangering classified information pursuant to Sections 319 and 320, endangering confidential and restricted information pursuant to Section 353, revolt of prisoners pursuant to Section 358, spreading false news pursuant to Sections 361 and 362, genocide pursuant to Section 418, terrorism and some forms of participation on terrorism pursuant to Section 419, acts against humanity pursuant to Section 425, and using prohibited weapons and warfare and impermissible methods and techniques of fighting pursuant to Section 426 shall become extinct if the offender voluntarilya) prevented or remedied harmful consequence of the criminal offence, or
b) reported the criminal offence in sufficient time to prevent its harmful consequence; such report shall be submitted to the authorities with competence for criminal proceedings or to the Police Force, members of the armed forces may give such information to their commanding officers or service body, and persons serving their imprisonment sentence or remanded in custody may give such information also to the officer of the Corps of Prison and Court Guard.""Section 339
See:
Aiding and Abetting
(1) Any person who provides assistance to the offender of a crime with the intention of helping him evade the criminal prosecution, imposition or execution of a sentence or protective measure shall be liable to a term of imprisonment of up to three years; if, however, such assistance is provided to the offender who has committed a criminal offence carrying a lesser sentence under this Act, such lesser sentence shall be imposed.
(2) No person who commits the offence referred to in paragraph 1 for the benefit of a close person shall be held criminally liable unless he does so with the intention toa) assist a person who committed the criminal offence of high treason pursuant to Section 311, plotting against the Slovak Republic pursuant to Section 312, terror pursuant to Sections 313 and 314, distructive actions pursuant to Sections 315 and 316, sabotage pursuant to Section 317, espionage pursuant to Section 318 or genocide pursuant to Section 418, or
b) obtain property benefit for himself or another.
(3) No person who commits the offence referred to in paragraph 1 shall be held criminally liable if he was forced to provide such assistance and could not refuse it without putting himself or a close person at the risk of death, bodily harm or other serious harm."Criminal Code of Slovakia. Act 300/2005 Coll. of 20 May 2005. [ENG]
International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY)
Agreement between the Slovak Republic and the United Nations on the enforcement of sentences imposed by the ICTY. 07 April 2008. [ENG]
International Criminal Court
Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court: The Slovak Republic signed the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court on 23 December 1998 and deposited its instrument of ratification on 11 April 2002.
Upon ratification the Slovak Republic made the following notification under article 87 (1) and (2) of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court:"Pursuant to Article 87, paragraph 2 of the Statute the Slovak Republic declares that requests from the Court for cooperation and any documents supporting such requests shall be submitted in English which is one of the working languages of the Court along with the translation into Slovak which is the official language of the Slovak Republic."
➤ The Slovak republic accepted the Kampala amendments to the Rome Statute on the crime of aggression on 28 April 2014:
Slovakia ratifies amendments to the Rome Statute on the crime of aggression and on article 8 related to war crimes.
ICC-ASP-20140429-PR1000, Assembly of States Parties to the International Criminal Court, The Hague, 29 April 2014. [ENG]
Constitution of the Slovak Republic. Office of the President of the Slovak Republic. [ENG]. [Last accessed 21Jul17]. [External Link to pdf document]
Constitution of the Slovak Republic. (1992 with Amendments through 2014)
Comparative Constitutions Project, University of Texas at Austin. [ENG]. [Last accessed 21Jul17]. [External Link to pdf document]
Criminal Procedure Code of the Slovak Republic. (2005).
OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights. [ENG]. [Last accessed 21Jul17]. [External Link to pdf document]
Collection of Laws. (The "Laws for people" offers acess to the legislation published in the Collection of Laws since 1945, in Slovak, free of charge).
Zákony pre ludí. [SLK]. [Last accessed 21Jul17]. [External Link]
Legal Data Base. (In Slovak).
Nové Aspi, Wolters Kluwe. [SLK]. [Last accessed 21Jul17]. [External Link]
List of International Humanitarian Law Treaties to which the Slovak Republic is a State party.
(International Committee of the Red Cross). [ENG]. [Last accessed 21Jul17]. [External Link]